A toothbrush generally comprises a brush extending laterally from a handle for cleaning one's teeth. As is well known, proper brushing of one's teeth is a necessary requirement to maintain dental health. However, the handle employed in a toothbrush today is generally a thin, elongated plastic. While most individuals do not have problems using such a handle, those individuals who are manually impaired and do not have full use of the hands due to infirmities such as rheumatoid arthritis may experience a great deal of difficulty. Thus, there is a need for a toothbrush which can be used by manually impaired persons.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,063 entitled "Method of Making Implement Handle for Crippled Persons" which issued on Jan. 12, 1988 to White discloses a method of making an implement handle for crippled persons involving an initially flexible bag which is filled with material in the plastic state. The crippled person grips the bag and holds the grip until the plastic sets to a rigid state.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,437 entitled "Hammer" which issued on Feb. 13, 1996 to Hebert et al. shows a hammer having a handle which has a bore hole which is filled with a gelatinous material to assist in absorbing shocks from the hammer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,781 entitled "Gripping Aid for the Manually Disabled" which issued on Jun. 18, 1985 to Brody discloses a semi-flexible gripping aid for manually disabled people. One use is to hold a toothbrush.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,808 entitled "Gripping Device for Tooth Brushes" which issued on Aug. 18, 1981 to Beebe provides a gripping device to make a toothbrush easier to grasp.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,109 entitled "Toothbrush with a Device for the Perfect Orientation of the Bristles with respect to the Surface of the Teeth" which issued on Jun. 3, 1986 to Borea et al. discloses a toothbrush having an anatomical grip which has fixing means on one end for a short rod having a head of bristles on the end.
None of the references disclose the present invention. Thus, there is a need to provide a toothbrush for use by the manually impaired.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize this invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.